(REVIEW) Ibu Ruby's is Bringing Indo-Malay Delights Along With the "Best Nasi Lemak in Bangsar"

Located in the Lucky Garden area, Ibu Ruby's is the brainchild of Muhammad Imran Abdullah (Imran), a German Muslim convert who is also one of the co-founders of Positano Risto in Publika KL.

The eatery's inspiration came largely from Imran's childhood memories of the meals of "Ibu Ruby" a helper who cooked for his family in Jakarta in 1979 when he was living there.

With Ibu Ruby's, Imran hopes to honour her legacy while sharing many of his favourite dishes from when he was younger.

With the help of Chef Afique, an alumnus of EQ Kuala Lumpur Nipah Cafe, the two set out to recreate Ibu Ruby's dishes using pastes and sauces crafted from scratch with fresh ingredients and no artificial additives.

Upon entering the restaurant, you might mistake the eatery for your typical Nasi Padang or Nasi Kandar set-up, with tantalising dishes showcased in a display right upon entry. However, those are more for display as they prefer prepping the food during orders to keep things fresh and hot.

The menu has set meals, such as the Nasi Lemak Ayam Kalasan (RM18.95), Nasi Ayam Penyet (RM18.95), the signature Nasi Ambeng Ayam Rendang (RM29.95) and a few other variations of nasi lemak.

If you prefer to curate your own meal, you can also do that here by picking what catches your eye from that spread of dishes or the menu.

Signature meals

Upon our visit, we were served three of their signature meals: the Nasi Lemak Ayam Kalasan, the Nasi Ayam Penyet and the Nasi Ambeng Ayam Rendang.

Ibu Ruby's tagline is "Best Nasi Lemak in Bangsar", a claim that Imran reaffirmed after informing us of how he went through vigorous testing of various popular nasi lemak spots all over the Klang Valley.

In our opinion, the Nasi Lemak Ayam Kalasan is certainly one of the best. The dish combines Malaysia's pride and joy, the nasi lemak, with Yogyakarta's ayam kalasan.

One of our biggest pet peeves is when the rice in nasi lemak is missing the ‘lemak’ component and ends up tasting like plain white rice. This was not the case with Ibu Ruby's nasi lemak, which was fluffy, super creamy and hearty.

Meanwhile, the Ayam Kalasan is the perfect companion to the fluffy rice, providing the dish with some crunch and juiciness.

Sambal-wise, it was pretty spicy and certainly hit the spot for spice lovers.

The next dish we tried was Ibu Ruby's Nasi Ayam Penyet. Although we also enjoyed this dish, it was a standard nasi Ayam Penyet. It featured nasi kukus, a decently sized fried chicken leg, and the usual fixings of beancurd, fermented soybean, cabbage and cucumber.

The third and most extravagant meal of the night was the Nasi Ambeng, which we would honestly recommend for sharing. Ibu Ruby's Nasi Ambeng has turmeric-scented basmati rice, chicken rendang, fried mee, urap winged bean, eggplant sambal, coconut sambal and fish crackers.

This was quite a mouthful, as you'd have to mix and match every dish component for the best bite. Each element brought its unique flavour and texture, creating a harmonious, satisfying and exciting blend.

Add ons

In addition to the main meals, we also opted to add several dishes from the menu, including the Daging Dendeng Minang (RM20.95), Kerabu Ikan Bilis (RM5.95) and Bergedil (RM3.95).

In our opinion, the Daging Dendeng Minang and Kerabu Ikan Bilis are must-orders. Both dishes were superb. The beef was super tender, flavourful and not too spicy. Meanwhile, the Kerabu Ikan Bilis provided a fresh kick, with the anchovies adding extra crunch to the dishes.

One of the things that make Ibu Ruby's unique is its selection of sambals, including the Sambal Hijau, Sambal Mangga, Sambal Tomato and Sambal Kelapa, which are priced at (RM4.95) each, except the mango variation, which costs RM5.95.

After trying all four, our favourites were the Sambal Kelapa and Sambal Tomato. The three paste-like sambals had similar consistency; however, we preferred the Sambal Tomato, which excellently balances the spiciness of the chillies with the sweetness of tomatoes.

The Sambal Kelapa, which consists of golden crumbs of toasted grated coconut, is a must-order. It's best sprinkled over rice and other dishes to give your tastebuds a coconutty kick.

Our verdict

Ibu Ruby's offers a remarkable culinary experience that beautifully showcases Indo-Malay cuisine's rich and diverse flavours.

From their highly acclaimed Nasi Lemak to the delightful Nasi Ambeng, each dish is crafted with care and authenticity, making it a must-visit for fans of the cuisine.

We personally think that it certainly lives up to its claim of having the best nasi lemak in Bangsar, but maybe we just haven’t tried it enough.